Taleh Kazimov
Taleh Kazimov | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1983 Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, Financial executive |
| Known for | Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan |
Taleh Kazimov (, born September 11, 1983, in Baku) currently holds the position of Governor at the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Life
Kazimov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Automation and Computer engineering from Azerbaijan Technical University between 2000 and 2004. Following this, he completed a Master of Business Administration through a collaborative program offered by Georgia State University and Azerbaijan State Oil Academy from 2004 to 2006. He further enhanced his business acumen by participating in executive education courses at London Business School in 2012 and Harvard University in 2014.
Professional career
While still a student, Kazimov launched his professional journey with IT roles at ATTAS PR and European Tobacco. His entry into the financial sector began in 2004 at Bank Standard CJSC, where he gained experience across Treasury, Finance, Budget Planning, and Corporate Lending departments. Between 2006 and 2007, he worked as an auditor at Ernst & Young, followed by a brief period as General Director of Fineko Analytics and Information Agency OJSC in early 2007.
PASHA Bank
In July 2007, Kazimov joined PASHA Bank as manager of the Risk Management Department. By 2009, he advanced to director of the Treasury and Money Market Department. On December 7, 2011, he became a Board member responsible for corporate and business banking, investment activities, trade finance, financial institutions relations, and loan portfolio management.
From 2015 until 2022, Kazimov held the roles of Chairman of the Management Board and CEO at PASHA Bank. His leadership contributed to the bank receiving numerous accolades such as ‘The best bank of Azerbaijan’, ‘The best commercial bank’, ‘Corporate social responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS’, ‘Azerbaijan's best investment bank’, and ‘Best private banking’.
Significant achievements during his tenure from 2015 to 2022 included:
- Expansion of the loan portfolio by 281%, equating to nearly fourfold growth, which increased total market share to 13.9% and raised the corporate business portfolio share to 22%.
- Reduction in non-performing loans from 16% down to 2.1%.
- Improvement in return on equity from negative 0.3% to a positive 11.52%.
- Growth in net income to AZN 552 million, representing a nearly sevenfold increase since the bank’s inception up to 2015.
- Decline in operating expenses ratio from 45.7% in 2014 to 37.9% of operating income.
- Despite a workforce increase by a factor of 2.6, marginal return on employment decreased from 1.5% to 0.7%.
- Digital payments dominated customer transactions with rates reaching 99.9% for SME banking and 99.7% for Corporate Banking by 2022.
Central Bank of Azerbaijan
On April 11, 2022, following President Ilham Aliyev’s recommendation, Azerbaijan’s Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy approved Kazimov’s nomination as a member of the Central Bank’s Board. The Parliament ratified his appointment on April 12, 2022.
Subsequently, on April 13, 2022, Kazimov was officially designated Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan by presidential decree.
Memberships
- Served on the Supervisory Board of PASHA Bank Georgia OJSC from 2015 to 2018.
- Held the position of Vice President and was a Board member at the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AMCHAM) between 2015 and 2019.
- Acted as a Board member for PASHA Investment Bank in Turkey during the period from 2015 to 2019.
- Has been part of the Board of Directors for the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) since 2019.
- Appointed to the Supervisory Board of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan on April 13, 2022, and continues to serve in this role.
Awards and recognition
In 2019, Taleh Kazimov earned the title of 'Best CEO' for Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet states awarded by EMEA Finance.